


What to Do with the Local Wimp

by HealthInspector



Series: PMD Writings [4]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon
Genre: Aster is an idiot, Canon: Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon, Gen, vallea is also an idiot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-07-09 23:51:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19896439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HealthInspector/pseuds/HealthInspector
Summary: Aster and Vallea have been dared to stay overnight at the school. This doesn't seem so bad at first, but there have been rumors of ghosts haunting the school!Vallea is, naturally, terrified, and Aster doesn't know how to react.(Takes place during Chapter 8 of PSMD)





	What to Do with the Local Wimp

The bright midday sun shone down upon Serene Village. Dozens of Pokemon ran to and fro, their daily obligations requiring all their attention. Carracosta tended to his orchard, Kangaskhan managed her café, Kecleon manned his shop, the list went on. But the children had no such obligations. School was out for the summer, so they were free to do what they liked.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the children didn’t have other problems weighing on their minds. For instance, a certain Riolu named Vallea was quite troubled by rumors of ghosts at her school. Her Treecko friend, on the other hand, couldn’t care less.

Walking through the plaza, Vallea mumbled, “Ugh…I don’t get why he won’t just leave it alone.” Kicking at the dirt beneath her, she continued, “So what if I’m scared of ghosts? That doesn’t mean Pancham gets to just make fun of me whenever he likes! Right, Aster?”

Aster, for that was the Treecko’s name, nodded absentmindedly as he walked alongside her. “Mhm.”

“I try to be nice to him, like my Pops says, but it just doesn’t seem to be working! He’s always such a jerk!”

“Mhm.”

“And now he wants us to go to the school. Which is probably haunted. By ghosts. And he wants to do it tonight.”

“Mhm.”

Vallea tugged on her aura tassels. “Of all things, why did it have to be ghosts? Just thinking about them makes my knees shake! How the heck are we supposed to spend a whole night with them?!”

Her last complaint drew Aster’s attention. Turning to face her, he said, “You know, we could just not go. Since you’re so scared of ghosts, why don’t we just stay in tonight, instead?”

His suggestion only riled her up further. Her fur practically stood on end as she yelled, “What?! No! If I don’t go, then I’ll become the village’s laughingstock!”

“What, you’re not already?”

Vallea pressed a paw between her eyes. “Oh, you know what I mean! This is a chance, Aster! A chance to prove myself to everyone! If I do this, then Pancham will have no reason to make fun of me!”

Aster made a shooing motion with his hand. “Pfft, nah. He’ll just bully you for something else.”

“You think so?”

“I _know_ so.”

“Aww…” Vallea’s gaze fell to the ground. The two walked in silence for a minute. But she soon perked up again. Paws on her hips, she declared, “But I still want to do this. I can’t be a scaredy-cat forever! This is my chance to face my fears!” Her voice rose further as she shouted, “I’m going to the school tonight! Even if there are ghosts! I won’t be afraid anymore!”

“Mhm.” Aster didn’t even look at her.

Her eyes narrowing, Vallea asked, “Are you even listening?” She waved a paw in front of his face for good measure.

He batted the paw away. “Of course I’m listening.”

Vallea stopped walking and placed her paws on her hips. Adopting a confrontational tone, she demanded, “Oh, yeah? Then what did I say?

Aster groaned. “Ugh, something about wanting to go to the school tonight, for whatever reason.”

“Not just for ‘some reason’! I’m going to _face my fears_ , Aster.”

“Yeah, that.” He shook his head. “I still think we should just stay in tonight. I’m exhausted.”

“Nope, we’re going.”

Aster sighed, then started walking again. Vallea followed.

Eventually, the two arrived at their homes. As Aster approached his front door, he heard Vallea mumble something from behind him. Turning around, he said, “What was that?”

Looking down, Vallea took a deep breath. She met Aster’s eyes and said, “Er…to be honest, I’m still really scared of what’ll happen tonight. Like, really, really, scared. So I’m pretty much planning to stick to you like glue…” She gave a nervous giggle. “You’ll let me, won't you? We’ll stick together, right?”

Aster’s heart skipped a beat. Folding his arms, he replied, “What? No!”

Vallea lurched backwards, her eyes widening. “Why not?!”

“Because if you stick to me ‘like glue’, we won’t be able to fight off those ghosts! Our mobility will be impaired, and I’ll have to take extra care not to get you caught in the crossfire. Besides, you might end up accidentally hitting me, too! On top of that…” Aster trailed off as he noticed Vallea wiping at her eyes.

Despite her best efforts to conceal it, a few tears still trickled down her face. Her lip quivering, she tried and failed to hide her face behind her paw.

Aster was at a loss for words. In his best attempt at gentleness, he stammered, “Uh…W-what’s wrong? What’re you crying for?”

She loudly sniffed. Revealing her face, she mumbled, “I just…I don’t know, I…” She wiped her eyes again, then muttered, “Ugh, I guess I j-just…I thought it would be okay if we stuck together, and…I mean, if you don’t want to, it’s okay. I-I’ll manage.” She whimpered quietly, wiping her eyes.

Aster's arms hung limply at his sides. He opened his mouth, but he found that he couldn’t think of anything to say. Vallea let out a quiet hiccup. He had to say something, anything! Just string some words into a sentence. It isn't that hard! Aster took a deep breath, then said the first thing that came to mind: “Don’t be stupid.”

“H-huh?” Vallea stopped wiping her eyes and tilted her head, her tassels hanging limply.

That probably wasn't the smartest thing to say. Resisting the urge to facepalm, Aster continued, “I-I mean, you can stick to me.” He walked up and poked her chest. “Like, if you want to. I don’t really care one way or another. But!” He raised a finger into the air. “If we do run into ghosts, you'd better get off me, okay? I’m gonna need your help against them.”

She looked at him with her big red eyes. “You’re not just saying that?”

Aster scoffed, “Pfft, ‘course not.”

She hesitated, then wiped at her eyes. “Erm…T-thanks. I guess I, uh, got a bit carried away there. Heh…”

“Yeah, you can say that again. But still, I guess it’s normal to be scared.” He shrugged. “Can't really help it. Besides-”

“Hey, I’m not scared!” Vallea pouted.

Aster shot her an incredulous look. “Excuse me?! You were just going on about how terrified you were! You were crying about it not even a minute ago!”

“Yeah, well, that was a minute ago! I’m not scared now!”

“Uh huh. Wanna explain why not?” Hands on his hips, Aster leaned closer.

Vallea crossed her arms. “If I tell you, you'll just laugh at me.”

“No, I won’t.”

“You will.”

“Will not.”

“Oh yeah? Then promise.” Vallea stepped closer, glaring into Aster’s eyes. “Promise me you won’t laugh.”

Aster’s stubborness faltered when met with her fiery red eyes. Even though a few tears still wet them, they displayed a will of iron. He looked away, his face burning. He mumbled, “I promise.”

“Good.” Vallea took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and mumbled something incomprehensible.

“Come again?”

“…It's because you’ll be there with me.”

Despite his earlier hesitation, a smug grin spread across his face. Adopting a lofty tone, he declared, “Well, that’s only logical! After all, I’m so _brave_ and _strong_ , it’s only natural that you'd feel safe with me!”

Vallea shook her head and gave a long, drawn-out groan. Shooting him a look, she whined, “Can’t you take things seriously, for once?”

“I’m completely serious, Vallea,” Aster claimed. But his poorly suppressed grin betrayed his lightheartedness.

“I can’t believe you.” Vallea turned around and walked off to her house.

Aster called after her, “See you tonight?”

Turning halfway towards him, she replied, “Yeah, see you tonight. And I’m not forgetting what you said! I’ll stay closer than your own shadow!”

“Looking forward to it.” He sighed to himself. Battling ghosts with a Riolu stuck to him would prove challenging. He’ll have to figure out a plan, some way to fight effectively. After all, Vallea was counting on him. As much as he hated to admit it, he didn’t want to let her down. So he wouldn’t.

**Author's Note:**

> tbh this was just an excuse to practice dialogue.  
> still have a long way to go in that department


End file.
